Tag Archives: Mason Plumlee

Duke Basketball

Tatum, Plumlee to Compete in Shanghai

Jayson Tatum Photo by Brian Babineau/Getty Images)

DURHAM, N.C. –  USA Basketball has announced its final roster for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, with former Duke Blue Devils Jayson Tatum and Mason Plumlee picked for the 12-man USA squad. The World Cup begins Saturday in Shanghai, China.

Tatum, who played for Duke in 2016-17, will make his first career World Cup appearance. In a pair of tune-up games against Australia last week, Tatum scored 16 points, gathered five rebounds and dished out five assists. A 2013 Duke graduate, Plumlee is making his second World Cup roster, as he helped Team USA win gold in 2014. Plumlee recorded seven rebounds and tallied two steals in the tune-up games against Australia.

The final USA roster includes Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

The World Cup, which begins Saturday, August 31 and runs through September 15, consists of 32 teams from four confederations. USA opens competition against the Czech Republic on Sunday, September 1 at 8:30 a.m. in Shanghai.

Duke Basketball

Three Blue Devils are Finalist for Team USA

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- USA Basketball has announced its roster of 17 finalists for the 2019 USA World Cup Team, which includes former Duke men’s basketball players Marvin Bagley III, Mason Plumlee and Jayson Tatum.

The announcement by USA Basketball came after four days of training and Friday night's USA Blue-USA White intrasquad exhibition game in Las Vegas. The 17 finalists include 13 athletes from the USA National Team roster and four players from the USA Select Team.

With his Duke coach and past USA National Team mentor Mike Krzyzewski looking on, Tatum led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four rebounds and a game-high plus-20 in leading the USA Blue to a 97-78 win Friday night in Las Vegas.

Plumlee added five boards, a steal and an assist in nine minutes for the Blue, while Bagley scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds for the USA White.

The USA National Team coaching staff features USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Serving as USA assistant coaches are Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright.

Following a short break, the USA finalists will reassemble in Los Angeles to train Aug. 13-15 and play an exhibition contest versus FIBA's No. 2 world-ranked team, Spain, at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Aug. 16 (7 p.m. PDT).

Finalists include Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Marvin Bagley III (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); De'Aaron Fox  (Sacramento Kings); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors);  Khris Middleton  (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); 2014 World Cup gold medalist Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); P.J. Tucker (Houston Rockets); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers);  Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

"We're bringing a couple of young players from the Select Team so we're going to be patient with the rest of the squad because we have plenty of time, we have two weeks to decide who will be the final 12," said Jerry Colangelo, USA Men's National Team managing director.

The 32-team 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup competition is set for Aug. 31-Sept. 15 in China. Results from the World Cup will qualify seven nations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Duke Basketball

New Homes for NBA Blue Devils

ddfThere will be a new home for several NBA Blue Devils this coming season including one of the all time Duke favorites JJ Redick. In case you missed it, Redick was part of a three team trade and deal which landed him with the Los Angeles Clippers. Redick joins the "hot." team in L.A. in the Clippers who look to be one of the better teams in the west this season. The Lakers which recently lost Dwight Howard to free agency will take a step back and the window is open for success for the Clippers who now have Glenn "Doc," RIvers running the team. As for Rivers, he actually mentioned Redick as a shooter in a conversation I had with him when Duke was recruiting his son Austin. In short, Redick has a good new home and with an aging Chancey Billups at the SG spot, he has a chance to start or play a major role this coming season.

Also on the move is former Duke standout and national champion Mike Dunleavy who will now suit up for Chicago Bulls. Dunleavy joins two other former Blue Devils in Luol Deng and Carlos boozer provide there are no further moves in Chi-town.

Another Blue Devil who will have a new home is Nolan Smith who was to play with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Summer league but he just suffered a lower leg injury and is now in a boot.

Mason Plumlee dropped a dunk during day one of the NBA Summer League that is drawing raves and supposedly yelled "Get some," as he ran back down court. Mason has a bit of a chip on his shoulder for those who thinks he is an older rookie with less upside. I think folks will change their tune over time about kids remaining until their senior year hurting their chances.

 

Meanwhile, the Blue Devil who never was, Shaun Livingston will be a teammate of Plumlee in Jersey where the Nets have signed the former high school standout. For those who have not followed Duke recruiting over the years, Livingston was a high school prodigy who gave Duke a verbal only to bolt for the NBA late the game before he ever played a game at Duke. His departure coincided with Luol Deng leaving after his freshman season after he had told the Devils he would return leaving Coach K's Dukies in a bit of a lurch. Sadly, Livingston suffered a major injury which has effected his career and many felt he needed a year in college for his body to catch up. Anyhow, Livingston was the original point of frustration for Duke fans in that they never got to see the top rated PG in the class and until that guy named Kyrie Irving came along. Irving, of course, got injured where he played in just over ten games for Duke leaving fans and the staff to wonder what it would be like had he had a full year in Durham. Those who remember Livingston realize he could have been one of the greats and it took a player of Irvings' stature to wrestle away the top "what if," spot in the K era.

Another player who will join Redick in Los Angeles will be incoming rookie Ryan Kelly. The two will be rivals though, in that Kelly will be a Laker. That means when Kelly gets burn he'll be closer to the Hollywood stars than he probably ever dreamed with the A-list straddling courtside seats. Kelly and his soon to be wife, Lindsey Cowher, daughter of former Steelers coach Bill Cowher will now have state of the art theaters at their disposal. The two are notorious movie goers where Kelly came clean that his favorites were romantic comedies. Anyhow, Hollywood is getting two character young men in the aforementioned Redick and Kelly who both make faith in Christ a big part of their lives.

Lastly, it was good to see Kyrie Irving get some help in Cleveland during the most recent NBA Draft and yes, Duke fans are still wondering aloud what a full season of Kyrie would have been like in Durham. I followed Irving closely on the recruiting trail when the Blue Devils were chasing him and to this day, no player was more exciting to the senses in that he simply did things on the court I have never seen since. Irving was special. He was worth the price of admission on the AAU trail, much less the league and he will now be able to play for Coach Mike Krzyzewski again for Team USA. I, for one, am excited to see that.

Duke Basketball

Plumlee garners more post season honors

RCP_9020DURHAM, N.C. – Duke senior Mason Plumlee was named to the Senior CLASS Award first team, the award committee announced Thursday.

Plumlee, a 6-10 forward from Warsaw, Ind., was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, an honor presented to the men’s basketball student-athlete who most excels in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition. Plumlee was one of five named to the Senior CLASS Award first team alongside Senior CLASS Award winner Jordan Hulls (Indiana) and finalists Mike Groselle (The Citadel), C.J. McCollum (Lehigh) and Mike Muscala (Bucknell).

On the Senior CLASS Award second team were Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary’s), Jonathan Lee (Northeastern), Peyton Siva (Louisville), Andrew Smith (Butler) and Marc Trasolini (Santa Clara).

A two-time Academic All-America first team selection, Plumlee owns a 3.37 grade point average as a psychology major and is only the fourth player in Duke basketball history to appear on the Academic All-America first team twice. Plumlee is only the 11th player in school history to appear on the All-ACC Academic Basketball Team three times.

Plumlee was among the top players in the country in his senior season, earning second team All-America honors after leading the Blue Devils to a 30-6 record and a trip to the Elite Eight with averages of 17.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.0 assists per game. He recorded a team-leading 18 double-doubles and 33 double-figure scoring games and was named to the All-ACC first team and NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team.

Plumlee is also involved in several community service efforts, including the Read with the Blue Devils program and the Emily Krzyzewski Center.

An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.